The latest outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has killed 55 people since the beginning of August and is spreading like wildfire throughout the region prompting the government to offer free treatment, reports say.

According to the DRC’s minister of health, there have been 96 reported cases this month which marks one of the worse outbreaks ever. That’s a 57% mortality rate assuming every case is confirmed. As it stands, only 69 cases have been confirmed which makes the current mortality rate of 79% which is far higher than any previous mortality rate associated with the virus which highlights the vigilance of this particular virus strain.

Due to the severity of the outbreak, DRC health officials have approved 4 experimental treatments for use in the hot zone which has now essentially become a full-scale human testing ground.